breathe

On Thursday Bantam Boy had to go to work at 4pm and by a miracle Chicky Babe was home and willing to come out with me to go for a coffee. I have been feeling like I'd been on a bit of a treadmill. Going to work, coming home cooking dinner rushing about , preparing lessons etc.

When I suggested our local coffee shop just near BB's work, CB said "Why don't we go somewhere different?" So we drove off going nowhere in particular. Suddenly I thought let's go down by the river to Pt Walter, I hadn't been in an age and we were already going in the right direction.

This part of the river is local to us. It is a part of the world where I grew up. I am indeed one of those boring people who as an adult live pretty much in the same place where they were born. In fact I am now about 5 blocks back from the hospital I was born in!!! I have lived in other places, (Kalgoorlie and Mt Magnet.) My children go to the same high school I went to. Every time I drive towards Fremantle there is a hill that you go over and the ocean and harbor skyline pops into view. I just love it. I never tire of it. Every time I see it I get a little rush of joy. My dream would be to live in a house from which I could see it every morning. It is not right on to ocean front but looking across the roof tops and glimpsing the promise of the sea beyond that I love the most.

Anyway that afternoon the coffee was poor but the company delightful and the view both beautiful and reviving to the soul. The place was deserted. We decided to take a walk, as we walked we chatted. We were astounded by the stillness of the water and the number and variety of bird life. We counted 10 different species of birds. We took photos with our phones as the sun set as I had not thought to bring the camera.

So I can share with you what a beautiful afternoon it was and you can see why I live within walking distance of the place in which I was born. I'm glad I took the time to stop and look and actually see what is beautiful around me.

Growth, change and sowing seeds

New year was great Bantam Boy and Chicky Babe had friends come over for a sleep over- no sleeping of course until about 6am! They are still promising they will pick up the remnants of chocolate wrappers and party poppers! Bantam Boy shaved his beard and got a hair cut for the new year. I don't recognise him now. It took me ages to find him in the shop today. Most of his friends have welcomed the change. I preferred the long hair bearded boy actually. Not really the usual mother stance is it? I am getting used to it though.

I've been trying out my new camera and in the process of loading them onto the computer I opened up a file of photos of the yard about 2 years ago. The yard was virtually bare and the plants along the fence line were only about 50cm high! My lemon tree was a tiny little thing.
Now it is absolutely laden with fruit. It is a variegated Eureka as you can see the fruit is stripy too! They turn yellow as they ripen. My sister is particularly jealous of my 2m tall tree hers has been in her front yard for years and it is still less than 1m tall. looking forward to making lemon curd tarts.


I have just figured out how to use this blog compose page to get the text in the correct spot under the photos and move the photos around! This is much much easier!

I love the contrast of the pink and the green with this hibiscus. The tree is full of blooms bobbing in the wind just outside my lounge room window. I must confess this is not one I have planted. It is an old gnarled one that has been here for years. Actually it is responsible for my deciding to blog actually. I had been looking at the lovely places people have and one day as Chicky babe was using the computer a picture of a lovely garden filled the screen.
"Wow, what a pretty garden!Where is that from?"
"Mum you idiot That's OUR garden!"
It was then that i realised it was all about perspective really. Things that you choose to see and also what you choose to show. Later that afternoon I went out to have coffee with a friend along the river just where the harbor and the river meet near the old bridge in freo. It was a glorious day, warm with a slight breeze and I thought i suppose people in other parts of the world would think how it would be a lovely place to visit.

I am beginning to realise that I am fairly impatient, mostly with myself. Looking back at the house and garden when I bought it exactly 3years and one month ago there has been a lot of change. I've created a garden out the front, completely stripped the place of hideous dirty wall paper, knocked out a wall, replaced the kitchen and bathroom, polished the floorboards had french doors put in from the lounge to the new pergola. I have achieved quite a bit really,I still have a lot of plans including making a space for me to do more art work. This mosaic was one piece that tried my patience! It is 1m 80cm across the base and took a year to complete. A good deal of that time it spent on the kitchen/dining table. The kids didn't mind they liked the novelty of eating at the breakfast bar or the informality of eating in front of the T.V. It is almost time to do another. I'd like one to go outside the french doors with a water feature so it can be seen and heard from inside the house. Not sure of the design yet -birds maybe or something floral. I have some Art Nouveau wallpaper prints that could be a good starting point.


Sowing seeds.